Jacques Ficini

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Jacques Ficini (born 8 July 1984 in Sardinia, Italy) is a football player who plays as a striker for the France national team, and for the English club Arsenal, where he is the club's all-time leading scorer in both league matches and all competitions. He is now the captain of Arsenal, having replaced Thierry Henry. Ficini has been nominated once for the FIFA World Player of the Year, finishing runner-up in 2005.

[edit] Early Life

After his father kicked him out of the house at the age of 16, Ficini began living with filmmaker John Cassavetes in New York City and from there travelled around most of Europe starting a career in acting, only to find himself back in the wild scene of New York at the age of 19.

False starts in art and music (he started an acid-jazz band ‘Fatima’) preceded his career as an actor. With his dark looks, capable of alternating between mischief and malice, he has acquired a reputation for versatility. The release of 2003's Touchez pas au grisbi established him as one of the most exciting young talents in European cinema.

Ficini particularly profited from his 'noble’ image (appearing in underground films and theatre plays). He has appeared in films and plays such as Show My Face, Is this it?, Touchez pas au grisbi, Broken Machine, Dr Hardfoot, and the infamous Raining Ukraine.

[edit] Football Career

Ficini has always had a passion for football and in early 2004 halted his acting career to spend time in London with some friends and distant family, despite a lack of formal training in Football, Ficini was noticed by a football scout when playing football in a field with friends in the east end of London. He immediately signed for Arsenal under 21s.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had a great deal of confidence in the club's young players. When three of his first-team players left the club at the end of the 2004-05 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of buying players from other clubs, drew a great deal of criticism. The criticism increased when the gunners started the season with a 2–1 defeat at Aston Villa, with Ficini scoring Arsenals only goal of the game; however, Arsenal won their next five matches and the young players performed well. Still, Ficini’s form was not good enough to break into the Italian squad before 2006.

In November 2005, Ficini became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Twin Peaks. With Twin Peaks ahead 2–0, Ficini hit an overhead kick shot from the Box edge that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net.

[edit] Personal Life

In 2005, Ficini dated Lena Olin, widely known as a mature Swedish Actress; their relationship attracted a great deal of media interest branding Lena Olin a ‘Cradle Snatcher’.

He Stopped dating Lena Olin in August 2005 when she he decided to concentrate on his career.

Ficini is well known for his laid back, timid personality and has been spotted in clubs along side Footballers Ric Masters and Cesc Fàbregas. Despite the raucous behaviour and chauvinist attitudes displayed by Masters and Fàbregas, Ficini sits in the backlight bashfully sympathetic of his peers.